The mysterious Mona Lisa could use a little grooming—so go ahead and brush her long black hair! Continue with the Old Masters by touching the large, lacy collar of Frans Hals’ The Laughing Cavalier, petting the horse’s tail in Velazquez’s Prince Baltasar Carlos on Horseback, and arranging the snappy elastic hair in Boticcelli’s The Birth of Venus. Other paintings come from Vermeer, de la Tour, Raphael, and Van Eyck.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-K—These board books, illustrated with some of the most famous Western masterpieces, encourage children to "touch the art." Each volume draws on a particular period, with Mona Lisa's Hair featuring the work of the Renaissance and Van Gogh's Bed the Impressionists. For each reproduction, a tactile element has been superimposed; for example, an earring on Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and a piece of tulle on one of Degas' ballerinas. In some cases the feature is small and somewhat hard to find (the fuzz on the peaches in a Cézanne still life, the eyeglasses on the man in Grant Wood's American Gothic), despite the relatively large size of the books. Each selection is identified and accompanied by a brief text. The text of Mona Lisa's Hair is mostly interrogative and less engaging than the other books. It asks, "Do you have a mustache too?" Will children find this silly or condescending? Matisse's Fish opts for a more successful format, with the repetitive refrain of "What a busy day!" Van Gogh's Bed features a lively rhyming scheme, while that in Warhol's Top is more forced (delicious/nutritious/lettuce/messes). The final pages of the books include a date, location, and a description, along with biographical information on the artist for each "artifact." While the idea of introducing children to art at an early age is a noble one, pairing the touch-and-feel format to fine paintings doesn't quite work.—Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Board book|Amazon Verified Purchase
We love this book! Brush Mona Lisa's hair has works of art that remind me of an art history class I took in college, but with touch and feel! My daughters (3 yrs old and 18 months old) love books so we have alot of them, and this one is a winner!
This book includes:
Mona Lisa- Leonardo Da Vinci
Price Balthasar Carlos on Horseback- Diego Velazquez
The Birth of Venus- Sandro Botticelli
The Laughing Cavalier- Frans Hals
The Arnolfini Portrait- Jan van Eyck
Portraits of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza and Their Triumph- Piero della Francesca
Girl with a Peal Earring- Johannes Vermeer
The Card Sharp- Georges de la Tour
Sistine Madonna- Raphael
At the end of the book the authors have included a short paragraph about each work of art and the artist who created it.
As with all the books in this series, the art is the star of the book- the words are secondary, and that's fine in this case. The "story line" in this book isn't amazing, and while that would usually annoy me, it doesn't matter much since the touch and feel famous works of art concept is so fantastic! Its a book I love looking at as well as my kids!
This book includes:
Mona Lisa- Leonardo Da Vinci
Price Balthasar Carlos on Horseback- Diego Velazquez
The Birth of Venus- Sandro Botticelli
The Laughing Cavalier- Frans Hals
The Arnolfini Portrait- Jan van Eyck
Portraits of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza and Their Triumph- Piero della Francesca
Girl with a Peal Earring- Johannes Vermeer
The Card Sharp- Georges de la Tour
Sistine Madonna- Raphael
At the end of the book the authors have included a short paragraph about each work of art and the artist who created it.
As with all the books in this series, the art is the star of the book- the words are secondary, and that's fine in this case. The "story line" in this book isn't amazing, and while that would usually annoy me, it doesn't matter much since the touch and feel famous works of art concept is so fantastic! Its a book I love looking at as well as my kids!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Board book
I was so excited to get this book. What a fantastic idea - teaching kids about great art from a young age. The selections were good, the textures (Mona Lisa's hair, the trim on the coat of van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait) are appealing. I appreciated the factual blurb with dates, artist information, etc - great for the adult reader. BUT, the actual text is SO uninspired and flat. I love the cadence of Dr. Suess and Shel Silverstein and love reading them over and over. Julie Appel's text is awkward and boring. After reading it once, I find I pass it by more often than not. I hope someone takes this general idea and makes a more interesting version.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By bookworm
Format:Board book
A lovely book from a lovely series of four--my favorites are this one and "Make Van Gogh's Bed." If you are an art lover and want your child to share your enjoyment, this is a great way to pass on some culture in a fun and low-pressure way. They will recognize the art works just because they have seen them in a book, and you will enjoy reading these books again and again. Wish there were more.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great art lesson!
We love the book and read it again and again. We now have 4 books in the series. They are great because they are interactive, plus we not only read the story, but talk about the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by suzanne williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Interactive Book
I got this book as a gift and my son loves it. It is interactive and fun for kids and the blurbs at the end of the book are a nice treat for the adults. Read more
Published 18 months ago by K. Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Art Teacher Mom
I fell in love with these books after receiving Pop Warhol's Top. I quickly ordered every book in the set. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Ashliegh Kling
2.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible compared to Pop Warhol and Van Gogh books by same author
We have Pop Warhol's Top and Make Van Gogh's Bed. I didn't even check the reviews on Mona Lisa because we really enjoyed the other books by the same author. Read more
Published on July 27, 2010 by T. Dober
3.0 out of 5 stars
a flop--but an adequate one
Every time my child picks up this book, I wince. I bought this book, as well as the rest in the series and a handful of other children's art books, because I wanted to imbue my... Read more
Published on March 2, 2010 by msmiles
5.0 out of 5 stars
From Vermeer's Girl's Pearl Earring to Raphael's Angels' Fluffy Wings,...
For your visual and verbal young learners, this book introduces great art from masters of the Renaissance to the Barogue in a fun, interactive way. Read more
Published on December 29, 2009 by Theresa K. Read
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it
I bought this for my nephew as a baby shower gift along with a few other ones in the Touch the Art series-- This one is by far his favorite! Read more
Published on December 7, 2009 by K. Sindowski
5.0 out of 5 stars
This series of books is awesome
A wonderful addition to the home school library. Great way to expand the childs experience. Highly recommend A+++
Published on November 16, 2008 by Great Mama
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not nearly as good as Pop Top 123
We'd been given Pop Top 123. What a wonderful book. Being a mom of a 3-year old, and having an interest in art history, I decided to buy all the books in the series. Read more
Published on May 19, 2008 by Robin Wood
2.0 out of 5 stars
Better concept that realization
I ordered these books for my niece and nephew based on online descriptions only. I had hoped for truly interactive books, based on titles like "Brush Mona Lisa's Hair". Read more
Published on December 11, 2007 by torovon
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